RISING 


msi 
'■'v.  • 


BY 

WILLIAM  E.  DOUGHTY 


INTERCHURCH 
WORLD 
MOVEMENT 
OF  , 
k  NORTH  A 
\  AMERICA/ 


THE  RISING  RIVER 


By 

WILLIAM  E.  DOUGHTY 


INTERCHURCH  WORLD  MOVEMENT 
OF  NORTH  AMERICA 
111  Fifth  Avenue  New  York  City 


Price:  5  cents  each,  50  cents 
per  dozen,  $2.75  per  hundred. 


168. 1.  100.  Nov.  1919 


The  Rising  R  iver 

XN  an  ancient  took  tkere  is  a  message  {or  tke 
new  time.  Tke  Old  Testament  propket 
Ezekiel  describes  tke  power  and  blessings  of 
tke  kingdom  of  God  in  terms  of  living  streams 
flowing  out  of  tke  temple.  Tke  story  is  full  of 
msigkt  and  inspiration. 

“He  krougkt  me  out  by  tke  way  of  tke  gate  nortk- 
ward,  and  led  me  round  ky  tke  way  witkout  unto 
tke  outer  gate  tkat  looketk  toward  tke  East,  and 
kekold!  tkere  ran  out  waters  on  tke  rigkt  side. 
Wken  tke  man  went  fortk  eastward  witk  tke 
line  in  kis  kand,  ke  measured  a  tkousand  cubits, 
and  ke  caused  me  to  pass  tkrougk  tke  waters, 
waters  tkat  were  to  tke  ankles.  Again  ke  meas¬ 
ured  a  tkousand,  and  caused  me  to  pass  tkrougk 
tke  waters,  waters  tkat  were  to  tke  knees.  Again 
ke  measured  a  tkousand,  and  caused  me  to  pass 
tkrougk  tke  waters,  waters  tkat  were  to  tke  loins. 
Afterward  ke  measured  a  tkousand;  and  it  was  a 
river  tkat  I  could  not  pass  tkrougk;  for  tke  waters 


4 


The  Rising  River 


were  risen,  waters  to  swim  in,  a  river  tliat  could 
not  l>e  passed  through."  (Ezekiel  47: 2-5.) 

It  is  proposed  in  tke  pages  tkat  follow  to  give  a 
modern  setting  to  tins  striking  picture  by  thinking 
of  it  in  relation  to  the  rising  river  of  the  mission¬ 
ary  life  of  tbe  American  churches;  first,  to  out¬ 
line  the  development  of  that  life;  and  second,  to 
pomt  out  the  abiding  principles  upon  which  every 
genume  spiritual  movement  must  rest. 

First  let  us  make  a  swift  review  of  the  progress  of 
the  ideals  and  of  the  plans  for  world  service 
among  the  American  churches.  Four  phases  in  the 
expansion  of  this  life-giving  stream  are  evident: 

1.  The  Springs 

There  was  a  time  when  American  Christianity 
had  no  world-wide  reach.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century  there  was  not  a  single  mis¬ 
sionary  supported  by  the  American  churches  at 
work  anywhere  m  the  non- Christian  world. 
Three  of  the  five  continents  and  a  large  part  of  a 
fourth  were  almost  untouched  by  the  work  of  any 
evangelical  missionary.  Facing  such  a  situation, 
companies  of  students  at  Andover  Seminary  and 
at  Williams  College  were  stirred  to  action  as  they 
contemplated  the  needs  of  the  world  and  the  lack 
of  vision  in  the  home  church.  They  began  with 


The  Rising  River  5 

that  most  powerful  of  all  human  agencies,  inter¬ 
cessory  prayer,  All  tlie  Christian  world  lias  felt 
the  thrill  of  the  story  of  those  gatherings  at  Prayer 
Meeting  Rock,  at  Andover,  and  of  tke  meeting 
during  a  storm  under  tke  skelter  of  a  kaystack  at 
W  illiamstown.  Tke  reack  and  power  of  tke 
influences  wkick  kave  radiated  from  tkose  centers 
no  man  kas  keen  akle  to  measure.  On  tke  sixtk 
of  Fekruary,  1812,  five  young  college  men  were 
ordained  at  Salem,  Massackusetts,  and  ky  tke  side 
of  two  of  tkem  went  fortk  two  keroic  young 
brides.  On  tke  nineteentk  of  Fekruary  of  tkat 
Bame  year  tke  first  company  of  tke  u  Immortal 
Seven”  sailed  for  distant  India. 

Tke  pioneer  missionary  agency  in  tke  western 
kemispkere  wkick  sent  tkem  fortk  was  tke  Ameri¬ 
can  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 
Tke  board  kad  five  hundred  dollars  in  tke  treasury 
and  only  twelve  hundred  more  in  sight  when  tke 
venture  began. 

Soon  came  tke  organization  of  tke  American 
Baptist  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  tke  Mis¬ 
sionary  Society  of  tke  Methodist  Episcopal  Ckurck 
and  others.  So  began  tke  era  of  tke  organization 
of  missionary  societies  m  America  and  of  tke 
worldwide  propagation  of  tke  f  aitk.  W  aters 
tkat  were  to  tke  ankles.  * 


6  The  Rising  River 

2.  United  Streams. 

The  second  phase  of  the  rising  river  of  God  is 
found  in  the  organization  of  a  number  of  inter¬ 
denominational  agencies.  The  Young  Mens 
Christian  Association  and  the  Y oung  W omen  s 
Christian  Association,  with  their  broad  platforms 
of  service  to  the  whole  life  of  men  and  women 
without  regard  to  denominational  affiliation  or 
distinction,  have  given  a  most  powerful  and 
practical  demonstration  of  the  practicability  of 
strong  leaders  of  many  faiths  working  together  on 
great  common  tasks.  It  was  m  June,  1844,  that 
the  first  Y oung  Men  s  Christian  Association  was 
organized  in  London.  On  November  25, 1851, 
in  Montreal,  and  on  December  29,  1851,  m 
Boston,  this  mighty  agency  of  the  kingdom  came 
into  being  m  America.  Out  of  the  great  revival 
of  the  fifties  came  the  Youn  tfW  omen  s  Christian 
Association.  To  these  organizations  more  than 
any  other  is  due  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  preparing 
the  churches  to  cooperate  in  their  common  tasks. 

The  Sunday  school  organizations  and  young 
people’s  movements  have  performed  the  same 
service  in  a  different  way.  Their  united  plans 
for  the  religious  education  of  youth,  their  litera¬ 
ture,  their  conventions  and  conferences  have 
widened  the  horizon  of  millions  of  young  people; 


The  Raising  River  7 

have  given  them  added  loyalty  to  tlieir  own  com¬ 
munions,  while  at  tiie  same  time  broadening  tbeir 
sympathies  and  contacts  with  all  the  other 
churches. 

The  Student  Volunteer  Movement,  together  with 
the  candidate  departments  of  the  mission  boards, 
has  lifted  to  a  new  plane  the  whole  question  of 
the  dedication  of  life  to  Christian  callings.  They 
have  contributed  enormously  to  the  carrymg  of 
the  message  of  Christianity  to  fields  afar  and  have 
exerted  an  immeasurable  spiritual  influence  on 
successive  college  generations  since  the  organization 
of  the  Movement  m  1885. 

Then  came  the  Young  People's  Missionary  Move¬ 
ment,  afterward  renamed  the  Missionary  Educa¬ 
tion  Movement.  Its  field  was  the  masses  of 
young  people  m  the  churches  who  were  not  being 
adequately  reached  by  any  agency  with  the  mis¬ 
sionary  message  and  vision.  The  summer  confer¬ 
ences  and  other  field  campaigns  of  this  Movement, 
its  missionary  text  boohs  and  other  educational 
materials  have  set  new  standards  of  missionary 
education  and  have  helped  mightily  to  prepare  the 
mmd  and  heart  of  the  modern  church  for  the  new 
era  expansion  which  is  now  upon  us. 

The  senes  of  world  missionary 


conferences, 


TKt  Rising  Rjvsr 


culminating  in  tlie  greatest  of  tliem  all  at  Edin¬ 
burgh  in  1910,  which  marked  a  distinct  era  in  the 
world-wide  propagation  of  Christianity,  have 
been  powerful  factors  in  giving  a  more  adequate 
view  of  the  task  of  the  churches,  in  international¬ 
izing  the  thinking  of  Christian  leadership  and  in 
helping  the  church  to  recognize  and  appreciate  the 
essential  spiritual  unity  of  the  evangelical  forces. 

The  Continuation  Committee  of  the  Edinburgh 
Conference,  with  its  unprecedented  chain  of  mis¬ 
sionary  conferences  in  the  great  mission  fields;  its 
gathering  and  marshaling  of  data  regarding  the 
world  situation;  its  promotion  of  international 
fellowship  and  understanding,  has  made  a  contri¬ 
bution  to  the  world  civilization  the  value  and 
power  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  over  estimate. 

The  interdenominational  missionary  councils,  such 
as  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference,  the  Home 
Missions  Council,  the  Federation  of  Women's 
Boards  of  Foreign  Missions  and  the  Council  of 
Women  for  Home  Missions,  have  been  outstanding 
examples  of  the  new  spiritual  and  intellectual 
unity  of  Christian  leaders.  Their  plans  for  co¬ 
operation,  their  emphasis  upon  the  power  of  a 
united  program  and  message  in  the  missionary  and 
social  concerns  of  the  churches,  have  demonstrated 


9 


The  Rasing  River 

beyond  question  tlie  feasibility  of  united  consider¬ 
ation  of,  and  action  on,  questions  of  common 
interest.  ■' 

Another  of  the  powerful  agencies  in  bringing  the 
churches  together  is  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America.  Many  efforts 
and  movements  for  federation  culminated  in  Phila¬ 
delphia  in  1906,  when  the  Council  took  its  present 
form  of  organization.  Mo  single  influence  has 
been  more  powerful  in  expressing  the  mind  and 
will  of  the  whole  evangelical  constituency  on  great 
moral  and  religious  questions.  The  social  creed 
of  the  churches  adopted  by  the  Council  is  a  not¬ 
able  illustration  of  religious  comity. 

Then,  ten  years  ago,  the  Laymens  Missionary 
Movement  came  with  its  insistence  upon  the 
practical  facing  by  the  church  of  its  whole  task  in 
terms  of  an  adequate  budget.  Its  conventions 
were  the  greatest  gatherings  of  professional  and 
business  men,  to  consider  international  Christian 
questions,  that  have  ever  been  held.  Its  emphasis 
upon  the  principles  and  practise  of  stewardship ; 
its  insistence  upon  business  methods  of  education 
and  finance,  -including  the  weekly  offering  and 
the  every-member  canvass,  resulted  in  greatly 
lifting  the  missionary  vision  and  output  of  the 
American  churches. 


10  The  Rising  River 

Each  of  these  Movements  Las  made  its  contribu¬ 
tion  and  others  that  might  be  mentioned  have 
added  their  share  to  the  rising  tide.  The  period 
of  time  thus  briefly  sketched  above  has  been  the 
world  s  most  notable  era .  of  mterdommational 
organization  and  service.  The  hour  is  evidently 
about  to  strike  for  some  great  new  advance  by 
means  of  a  coordination  of  all  these  forces. 
tkMVaters  that  were  to  the  knees, 

3.  Deepening  Currents. 

Attention  has  just  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the 
outstanding  phenomenon  of  the  religious  life  of 
America  during  the  last  half  century  has  been  the 
successful  development  of  powerful  interdenomin¬ 
ational  agencies.  From  a  period  in  which  the 
attitude  of  the  different  communions  toward  one 
another  was  often  one  of  open  hostility;  through  a 
later  period  of  over  zealous  competition  to  a  period 
of  mutual  respect  and  cooperation,  is  a  long  step 
toward  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth* 
It  began  to  look  as  if  the  day  for  separate,  denom¬ 
inational  propaganda  had  passed. 

One  of  the  unexpected  and  rather  paradoxical  re¬ 
sults  of  this  new  interdenominational  outlook  and 
the  deepening  sense  of  responsibility  in  the  churches 
has  been  what  some  have  looked  upon  with  trepid- 


The  Rising  River  11 

ation  as  the  recrudescence  of  denommationalism. 
Separate  communions  Lave  organized  special  de¬ 
nominational  campaigns  on  a  scale  undreamed  of  m 
all  CLnstian  Listory. 

TLe  pioneer  m  tins  field  was  tLe  Men  and  Mill¬ 
ions  Movement  of  tLe  Disciples  of  CLnst,  witL  its 
appeal  for  six  million  dollars  and  a  tLousand  new 
workers. 

TLis  was  followed  Ly  otLer  movements  in  Canada 
and  tLe  United  States,  notably  tLe  Northern 
Baptist  Laymen's  Movement,  tLe  New  Era  Move¬ 
ment  of  tLe  Presbyterians,  tbe  Enlistment  Cam¬ 
paign  of  tbe  United  Brethren  and  tbe  Joint  Mis¬ 
sionary  Centenary  of  the  Methodists,  North  and 
South.  Budgets  have  been  lifted  from  a  few  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  dollars  to  many  millions;  the  call  for 
life  investment  has  expanded  proportionately,  and 
programs  Lave  been  carried  through  with  dimen¬ 
sions  so  vast  that  all  previous  efforts  seem  but  child  s 
play.  The  remarkable  success  of  these  enterprises 
has  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  campaigns  on  a 
scale  and  with  objectives  larger  than  have  ever 
before  been  contemplated  Ly  the  church  m  all  its 
Listory.  These  denominational  movements  have 
revealed  with  new  vividness  that  all  the  commun¬ 
ions  are  working  m  a  common  field;  that  mdepen- 


12 


rjThe  Rjsing  R.iv§r 

s*. 

dent  competitive  effort  mean*  enormous  wasteful¬ 
ness  and  loss  of  power;  tkat  tkere  are  vast  areas 
tkat  can  ke  adequately  occupied  only  ky  a  united 
program;  tkat  tke  relationskips  are  tkose  of  inter¬ 
dependence  not  independence,  and  tkat  tke  united 
call  for  and  training  of  workers  results  in  great 
gains  in  efficiency  and  economy.  “ Waters  tkat 
were  to  tke  loins." 

4,  <The  Floocl-'T'jdt. 

Wkat  next?  Tke  re  is  one  otker  measurement: 
“It  was  a  river  tkat  I  could  not  pass  tkrougk;  for 
tke  waters  were  risen,  waters  to  swim  in,  a  river 
tkat  could  not  ke  passed  tkrougk."  (Ezek.  47:5.) 
Are  we  at  last  on  tke  kank  of  tkat  nver?  Are  tke 
streams  at  last  to  unite  in  one  migkty  tide?  Is  tke 
Interckurck  "World  Movement  of  God?  So  it 
seems  to  multitudes.  Tke  words  of  Dr.  Hukert  C. 
Herring  voice  tke  convictions  of  many  wken  ke  says; 

“Tkere  is  no  need  to  say  more  except  to  empkasize 
one  element  wki  ck  kas  keen  common  to  all  gatker- 
ings  of  tke  Movement  from  tke  kegmning.  Tkis 
element  is  tke  pervasive  and  commanding  impres¬ 
sion  tkat  in  it  all  tke  Spirit  of  God  is  calling  us  to 
do  a  new  and  greater  tking.  Again  and  again  in 
confronting  tke  puzzles,  tke  proklems,  tke  perplex¬ 
ities  and  colossal  demands  of  tke  undertaking,  I 


The  Rising  River  2$ 

Lave  found  myself  hesitating,  only  to  Le  lifted  out 
of  Lesitation  Ly  tLe  assured  confidence  Lorn  in  me 
and  borne  in  upon  me  tLat  we  Lave  come  to  a  place 
wLcre  Goi  is  speaking  a  new  word  of  command 
wLicL  we  dare  not  refuse  to  Lear.  Here  on  tLe 
LitLer  side  of  tLese  years  of  agony  CLrist  stands 
witL  us  today  and  Lids  us  go  forward  to  a  new 
and  greater  thing.” 

Is  tLe  IntercLurcL  Movement  Lut  tLe  introduction 
to  tLat  glad  day  wLen  tLe  knowledge  cf  tLe  glory 
of  God  sLall  cover  tLe  eartL  as  tLe  waters  cover 
tLe  sea?  W e  trust  so,  Lut  tLe  answer  lies  deeper 
tLan  we  Lave  yet  gone.  W e  must  understand  tLe 
conditions  for  tLe  manifestation  of  power  suffi¬ 
cient  for  sucL  an  Lour  and  sucL  a  program. 

As  Dr.  J.  Campbell  WLite  says:  “’Unless  tLe 
Movement  and  preparation  for  it  are  providential 
we  will  want  to  Lave*  nothing  to  do  with  it.  If 
Loth  the  preparation  for  it  and  the  Movement  it¬ 
self  are  providential  then  we  Lave  everything  to 
do  with  it  and  all  our  future  is  hound  up  in  it. 
I  am  one  of  those  who  is  willing  to  stake  every¬ 
thing  on  the  conviction  that  God  is  moving  now 
in  Lis  church  in  a  mighty  way.  TLe  conviction 
Las  been  deepening  that  since  the  churches  can  do 
so  much  more  Ly  working  together  than  they  can 
do  Ly  working  without  intelligent  regard  to  each 


14  The  Rising  River 

otkcr,  it  is  tlieir  clear  duty  to  cooperate  to  tke 
fullest  extent.  Tkis  duty  kas  come  to  multitudes 
of  earnest  Cknstians  as  a  profound  moral  and 
spiritual  okligation.  Forward-looking  leaders  of 
tke  ckurck  m  every  part  of  Nortk  America  kave 
felt  tkat  some  new  measure  of  ckurck  cooperation 
was  kotk  imperative  and  mevitakle,  Tke  Inter- 
ckurck  W orld  Movement  seems  to  ke  tke  answer 
to  tkeir  longing  and  prayer/’ 

To  tkese  words  we  add  only  a  statement  from 
Dr.  Jokn  R.  Mott  wko  says:  ^A  practical  plan 
of  cooperation,  entered  into  intelligently  ky  tke 
leaders  of  tke  aggressive  forces  of  tke  evangelical 
forces  and  adkered  to  loyally  witkout  any  com¬ 
promise  or  sacrificing  a  single  vital  principle, 
would  make  possikle  tke  easy  world-wide  occupa¬ 
tion  ky  pure  Ckristianity  of  all  tkose  fields  tkat 
now  concern  us.  In  fact,  I  see  no  reason  wky 
five  years  skould  pass  witkout  our  kaving  m  posi¬ 
tion  m  every  dominant  place  tke  gospel  agents  and 
tke  gospel  agencies  on  k  otk  sides  of  tke  sea  in  suffi¬ 
cient  strengtk  and  working  witk  sufficient  preci¬ 
sion  to  knng  tke  victory  well  witkm  our  sigkt  and 
witkm  our  day/' 

^Zhy  the  Living  Stream ? 

As  one  penetrates  deeper  into  tke  meaning  of  tke 


The  Rising  R  iver  15 

living  stream,  its  origin  and  destiny,  tke  clearer 
kecomes  tke  conviction  tliat  liere  we  are  dealing 
witk  eternal  principles  upon  wkick  any  genuine 
spiritual  movement  must  rest.  Wkat  are  tlie 
secrets  of  all  tkose  keneficient  streams  tkat  kave 
klessed  our  world?  We  go  kack  again  to  tke 
Ezekiel  story. 

1.  The  Presence  of  God. 

You  will  recall  tkat  tke  propket  says  tke  stream 
flowed  out  of  tke  east  gate.  In  seeking  for  an  ex¬ 
planation  turn  kack  to  an  earlier  ckapter  in  Ezekiel 
and  tkere  you  will  read:  '^Xke  glory  of  Jekovak 
came  into  tke  kouse  ky  tke  way  of  tke  gate  wkose 
prospect  is  toward  tke  east.  And  tke  spirit  took 
me  up  and  krougkt  me  into  tke  inner  court;  and, 
kekold,  tke  glory  of  Jekovak  filled  tke  kouse. 
And  I  keard  one  speaking  unto  me  out  of  tke  kouse; 
and  a  man  stood  ky  me.  And  ke  said  unto  me. 
Son  of  man,  tkis  is  tke  place  of  my  tkrone  and  tke 
place  of  tke  soles  of  my  feet  wkere  I  will  dwell 
in  tke  midst  of  tke  ckildren  of  Israel  forever. 
(Ezekiel  43:4-7.)  All  tke  gates  of  tke  temple  are 
descnked  ky  tke  propket,  kut  out  of  only  one  of 
tkem  tke  life-giving  river  flows.  It  is  out  of  tke 
gate  tkrougk  wkick  God  enters  tkat  tke  streams 
come  fortk.  Tke  Ckristian  movements  tkat  live 
come  out  of  tke  keart  of  God.  Many  fair  pro- 


16 


'The  Rising  River 

jects  lie  wrecked  by  tlie  side  of  the  long  trail  by 
wLicL  men  are  rising  to  power,  because  tbey  lacked 
or  lost  tbe  divine  presence.  In  tbe  light  of  this 
truth  a  passage  in  the  Acts  has  taken  on  new 
meaning:  “If  this  counsel  or  this  work  he  of 
men,  it  will  be  overthrown:  but  if  it  is  of  God,  ye 
will  not  be  able  to  overthrow  them;  lest  haply 
ye  be  found  even  to  be  fighting  against  God. 

(Acts,  5:38,  39.) 

In  a  stirring  poem  entitled.  “^Vhat  Did  You  See 
Out  There,  My  Lad?',  John  Oxenham  records 
the  experiences  of  a  young  soldier  in  the  world 
war.  The  closing  lines  are  as  follows: 


“I  have  sped  through  hells  of  fiery  hail. 
With  fell  red-fury  shod; 

I  have  heard  the  whisper  of  a  voice, 

I  have  looked  in  the  face  of  God. 


1 


You've  a  right  to  your  deep,  high  look,  my  lad. 
You  have  met  God  in  the  ways; 

And  no  man  looks  into  His  face 
But  he  feels  it  all  his  days.” 

We  too  must  see  the  face  of  God  if  this  Move¬ 
ment  reaches  its  goal,  for  only  an  unshaken  con¬ 
viction  that  the  Movement  is  of  God  will  be 
powerful  enough  to  carry  it  through.  This  is  the 


The  Rising  River  17 

<leep  secret  of  all  spiritual  movements  tkat  kave 
revolutionized  tke  world. 


2.  Prayer. 


Tke  second  and  tkird  verses  of  tke  forty-sixtk 
ckapter  add  anotker  line  to  tke  picture:  '"Tke 
prince  skall  enter  ky  tke  way  of  tke  porck  of  tke 
gate  witkout,  and  stall  stand  ky  tke  post  of  tke 
gate;  and  tke  pnests  skall  prepare  kis  kurnt-offering 
and  kis  peace-offerings,  and  ke  skall  worskip  at  tke 
tkreskold  of  tke  gate,  .  .  tke  people  of  tke  land  skall 
worskip  at  tke  door  of  tkat  gate,"  God  at  tke  east 
gate;  prayer  at  tke  east  gate;  rivers  out  of  tke  east 
gate.  Tkis  is  not  tke  vision  of  one  man  in  tke  far 
away  centuries  or  of  a  story  in  a  kook.  It  is  tke 
kistory  of  religion,  it  is  tke  record  of  every  great 
spiritual  movement  wkick  kas  swept  tke  spirits  of 
men  and  ckanged  tke  kistory  of  tke  world.  Pray, 
O  pray,  people  of  God,  if  you  would  see  tke 
rivers  rise  until  tkey  fill  tke  world. 


3.  Sacrifice. 

Tke  last  discovery  leads  us  deeper  still.  ^Hience 
did  tke  streams  ongmate  inside  tke  gate?  Tke 
first  verse  of  tke  f orty-seventk  ckapter  tells:  "Tke 
waters  came  down  from  under,  from  tke  ngkt  side 
of  tke  kouse,  on  tke  soutk  of  tke  altar."  Saori- 


18  The  Rising  River 

fice!  Tke  crimson  touck!  It  is  tke  ancient  and 
perennial  patk  to  power. 

Ckapl  am  Tkomas  Tiplady  of  tke  Britisk  Army 
kad  a  never- to-ke- forgotten  experience  m  tke 
midst  of  one  of  tke  great  kattles  m  Flanders  wkere 
tke  Canadians  were  fi  gkting  witk  suck  superk 
keroism  and  paying  a  fearfu  1  toll  of  life.  Tke 
streams  of  wounded  were  unusually  keavy  and  tke 
men  were  parcked  witk  tkirst.  All  tke  drinking 
vessel  tke  Ckaplam  kad  was  a  single  cup.  He  filled 
it  witk  water,  passed  along  tkose  tragic  lines  and 
pressed  tke  cup  to  tke  lips  of  one  after  anotker  of 
tke  wounded  men.  As  man  after  man  pressed  kis 
lips  to  tke  cup  ke  left  a  kit  of  crimson  on  its  edge 
wki  ck  mmgled  witk  tke  water.  As  tkose  Can¬ 
adian  and  Bntisk  men  drank  of  tkat  crimson- tinged 
water,  Ckaplam  Tiplady  said:  *Tt  was  tke  great¬ 
est  sacrament  of  comradeskip  I  ever  saw.” 

Is  not  God  calling  kis  ckurck  to  a  comradeskip  of 
service  like  tkat?  It  requires  kktke  last  full  mea¬ 
sure  of  devotion”  to  cause  tke  waters  to  pour  fortk. 

Listen  again  to  tke  propket  of  God:  k'Tkese 
waters  skall  go  down  into  tke  Arakak,  and  tkey 
skall  go  toward  tke  sea.'  '  (47:8)  "By  tke  river  up¬ 
on  tke  kank  tkereof,  on  tkis  side  and  on  tkat  side 
skall  grow  every  tree  for  food,  wkose  leaf  skall 


19 


The  Rising  River 

not  wittier,  neitker  skall  tlie  fruit  tliereof  tail:  it 
eli all  krmg  fortk  new  fruit  every  montk.”  (v.  12) 
"And  it  sliallcome  to  pass  tkat  every  living  crea¬ 
ture  wkick  swarmetk,  in  every  place  wkitker  tke 
river  s  kail  come,  skall  live.  (v.  9)  "B  ecause  tke 
waters  tkereof  issue  out  of  tke  sanctuary.”  (v.  12) 

God  s  power  alone  can  ckange  a  desert  into  a  gar¬ 
den  and  a  dead  sea  into  fountains  of  living  water, 
and  God  s  power  is  ever  released  ky  means  of  sac¬ 
rifice  tkrougk  tke  lives  of  tkose  wko  pray.  If  tke 
modern  ckurck  could  learn  tkat  lesson  to  tke  last 
line  it  would  see  tke  rivers  refreskmg  tke  wkole 
eartk. 

Pity  tke  ckurck  if  tkis  age  gets  away  from  it;  if  tke 
golden  opportunity  of  today  slips  out  of  reack;  if 
tke  vision  of  tke  commg  conquest  flaskes  kefore 
unseeing  eyes;  if  tke  ckurck  feels  no  tkrok  of  agony 
and  makes  no  adequate  response  to  Ckrist  a  sum¬ 
mons  to  a  new  departure! 

Now,  today,  it  is  for  Cknst's  ckurck  to  say 
wketker  or  not  tke  vision  skall  kecome  a  reality, 
and  tke  story  ke  transferred  from  tke  pages  of  a 
kook  to  our  community,  our  nation,  our  world.  O 
ckurck  of  Ckrist,  facing  tkis  tkrill&ig  kour,  skall 
it  ke  desert  or  garden,  dead  sea  or  river,  "tke 
streams  wkereof  make  glad  tke  city  of  God! 


